How savvier shoppers see through misleading food labels
In the quest for health, many of us search for products that have an edge over their competition. If something is proclaimed to be “organic” or “natural,” we often think it’s healthier for us. Marketers hope these on-pack words will influence our buying decisions.
Marketing can be misleading. Product packages can bear overinflated claims about health benefits to make foods sound more nutritious than they are. For years, consumers mistakenly believed claims like “natural” and “no sugar added” meant a product was better for their health, but this is beginning to change. Shoppers are becoming savvier and are seeing right through marketing gimmicks like these: Food labelled as “natural:” Market research company The Hartman Group says words like “natural” and “clean” on food packages are increasingly being seen as “pretentious and neurotic” and will be used less often by food manufacturers. Consumers are realizing “natural” doesn’t mean very much. Products can be loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, but since those are made from sugar cane, beets or corn (all plants), they are still “natural.”
Citizen-led petitions have requested that the FDA review the term “natural” and regulate its use. There is no formal FDA definition, but the agency is investigating whether and how it should define the term.
The Hartman Group says four out of five consumers have ambivalence or outright distrust of the “natural” claim. Real foods that are “natural” should be obvious — like apples or almonds. Consumers are increasingly becoming skeptical when processed foods have this label, because intuitively, it does not make sense. Labelling what’s not there: “Wow,” my 6-year-old said at the grocery store. “These chips have no cholesterol!” Sounds healthy, right? Hold on. Cholesterol is a waxy, fatlike substance that is found only in animal-based foods. So potatoes, oil and salt will never have cholesterol.
That’s not as bad as bottled water that is labelled as “non-GMO, gluten-free and kosher” (yes, this exists). Is this to distinguish it from all other bottled waters that are filled with wheat and pork? Please.
Companies advertise what’s “not” in their foods to exploit the knowledge gap that consumers have. It’s natural for a shopper to assume if a food “does not contain” something, that’s a good thing (even if they have no idea what it means). Marketers prey on consumer vulnerabilities, then charge a premium for products that never contained that “evil” ingredient in the first place. “Health-washing” junk food: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese now comes in an organic version. Same with Doritos. “Organic” is a method of farming, not a health claim. Organic junk food is no healthier than products made from conventionally grown ingredients. So why bother creating these products? Perhaps they give permission to health-conscious consumers to give into junk food cravings without feeling guilty.
Words like “organic” and “GMOfree” appeared on almost 30 per cent of new product launches in the past year, compared with just 17 per cent of products a decade ago. Such labelling may be slowing down. According to the Hartman Group, organic is still seen as a symbol of quality, but its expansion into big brands making processed food has diluted the appeal and reduced trust in organic claims. Fake “no sugar added” claims: This is a big one in the beverage world, where juice that contains as much sugar as soft drinks can claim “no sugar added.” It’s a nuanced term. Eight ounces of apple juice and eight ounces of cola have the same amount of sugar, about six teaspoons. It doesn’t matter if it’s natural or added sugar when it’s being guzzled in huge quantities.
A lawsuit against PepsiCo’s Naked Juice said the company misled consumers by featuring the “no sugar added” statement. Adjustments are being made. PepsiCo will proceed with label changes including reducing the text size on the “no sugar added” claim (which it still gets to make, for now), and including a statement saying the product is “not a low-calorie food.”
Where do all of the calories come from? Sugar.
Company executives who listen to what consumers want will drive the shift toward honest labels. As consumers, we need to keep pushing for honesty and transparency in marketing, because it seems to be working. Slowly.